Clinical Research Directory

Development and Validation of an Online Independent Training Program for TOR-BSST© Dysphagia Screeners

Sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto

Summary

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally. Dysphagia, swallowing difficulty, is common following stroke, affecting about 55% of all stroke patients. People with stroke and dysphagia are three times more likely to develop pneumonia compared to patients with no dysphagia. Stroke best practice guidelines recommend early identification of dysphagia by bedside testing (called screening) of all patients admitted to hospital with stroke. Our group was the first to develop a screening tool for stroke patients, the Toronto Bedside Swallowing Screening Test (TOR-BSST©). It uses a step-by-step process to identify patients with dysphagia risk. TOR-BSST© screeners are health professionals who have successfully completed a live 4-hr training provided by a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). There is good evidence that this training increases the accuracy of screening. However, a 4-hr live session is not acceptable with limited healthcare resources. Our aim is to evaluate the accuracy of an innovative eLearning program to train TOR-BSST© screeners. If successful, this project will shorten training time, reduce hospital resource burden, and ensure a sustainable dysphagia screening program for people with stroke in all hospitals.

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